Getting to Dante's view in Death Valley requires driving on a twisty mountain road from near the lowest point on the continent. And trying to get to this spectacular view point at sunrise requires commitment of a different sort. And yet, I was able to convince my entire family to wake up at dawn and make our way to the freezing summit at Dante's view to catch the sunrise.
Thankfully it did not disappoint. It was cold, windy, and extremely colorful. The eastern sky slowly changed from crimson to pastel tinges as the sun cleared the horizon. At the same time, shafts of light lit up the the mellow eastern slopes of the Panamint range, lighting the highest point in the National Park. Down below was Badwater basin, a salt flat at the lowest point in the Park that served as the drainage for the elongated valley.
It was very hard to take it all, especially with freezing winds blasting from the east. But it was worth the trip.
Death Valley National Park
CA USA